So it was that on this day that Dan Sanders and Ben Warner set out on
a quest to see birds of a splendid array of browns and tans and whites
- the shorebirds, and a few others as well. We braved flooding to the
north, and dreary gray and drizzle to the south. Here lies the
retelling of their valiant effort to avoid eyestrain.

Hoover: we met here at the boardwalk in the morning and we finally
found the Red-necked Phalarope, Kevin Metzger saw it yesterday in the
rain when I got there, but it left by the time I got to where he had
seen it, or maybe I just couldn't see thru all the rain. Today,
success, a new county bird and the third one of these little guys I've
seen this year and for that matter ever. List:

RED-NECKED PHALAROPE -looks to be a juvenile was out at the part that
faces the osprey tower in the mudflats near us
WESTERN SANDPIPEr - 1 juv.
Semipalm. Sandpiper - plenty
Least Sandpiper -    good numbers
Pectorals
Spotted Sandpipers
Solitary Sandpiper - 4
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Semi. Plovers
Killdeer
Great Egret
GBHe.
LITTLE BLUE HERON - 1 imm. still out on his "mud island"
Chimney Swifts
Kingfishers (Belted)

Alum - Hogback Road - Good habitat here but not as many birds, still
worth lookin.

STILT SANDPIPER - two Juv.
Greater Yellowlegs - more than Hoover, calling and such
Lesser Yellowlegs
Short Billed Dowitcher - 1 juv.
Solitary S.p.
Pectorals
Least
Killdeer
Osprey

Findlay Res. - here we had to make a couple iffy water-crossings lots
of flooding. We walked the dividing dike that splits the two resevoirs
and just like last year at this time a Sanderling and Spotted
Sandpipers were present, but unlike last year there were no
Buff-breasted Sandpipers, maybe they are just later this year. Also
seen were Bonapartes Gull - 2, Caspian Terns- 5, and a bunch of
ringbilled and Herring gulls.

Hardin Co. Wetland - we didn't go in to the wetland really since its
sort of off limits I guess. But viewable from the road were a lot of
wet fields with a lot of shorebirds in them. the field just to the
south of the wetland was full of shorebirds, we looked in vain for
Upland Sandpipers but mostly just the following was seen:

STILT SANDPIPER - 1 Juv.
Greater Yellowlegs - 10-"ish"
Lesser Yellowlegs - 30
Pectoral Sandpiper - 50
Solitary Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Killdeer
Blue-winged Teal - 20+
Green-winged Teal - 2
Mallards
Great Blues
Northern Harrier - female
Am. Kestrel
Bank Swallows
Barn Swallows
Meadowlark

Killdeer Plains - many flooded areas that used to be good shorebird
habitat before the rain. But on poind 27 we had two Black Terns in
winter plumage (along with 20 GREG, and 5 of Bill Whans "fav." Swans)
and many Wood Ducks. We saw many Eastern Kingbirds that seem to be
amassing here to migrate, they were all over. A probable Willow
Flycatcher was there. Also Bank Swallows are starting to gather in
bigger numbers. We walked the road by the Sportsman's center in hopes
of finding a Sedge Wren, we finally did as one scolded us, we must've
been two close to its nest, but we got really neat looks. Also around
Killdeer we saw Red-tails, Kestrel, and 1 juv. Bald Eagle and a pair of
adults sitting with eachother. Oh, and we saw 1 Common Nighthawk flying
over pond 27. Good stuff, I love those birds.

      Well we saw some other stuff too that I'm probably forgetting, but
that was most of the "coolest" species.

 Bird On,

      - Ben Warner




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